My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [61]
Moving Beyond the Physical Excuse
Step 1: Recognize that you choose how your physical challenge affects your life. No one can choose for you. You can turn your physical challenges into permission to hate life or a reason to love life even more. You make that choice, and then you live that choice.
Step 2: Write down three reasons why your physical challenge makes you stronger, wiser, or more resilient. Have you become a better listener? Are you more patient with others? Do you have talents other people don’t? Do you have knowledge in a niche area?
Step 3: Identify two people who you think are role models for the success and lifestyle you want. Find out what challenges they have had to overcome to get where they are. Use them as real-life examples in times when you question your own abilities.
Step 4: Join two not-for-profit organizations that can help you reach your dreams. One of these organizations should focus on assisting people with your physical challenge. Attend its meetings and take on a leadership position. The second organization should align with your Future Picture. This could be a nursing, architecture, or volunteer association. Attend their meetings and take on a leadership position. Through these two organizations, you will open incredible doors for networking, finding resources, and creating the opportunities you need to move forward.
Step 5: Design your own Reality Check Challenge. Create it in a way that forces you to confront your physical challenge head-on. Learn how to ski, complete a marathon, or earn an advanced psychology degree. Enter a public speaking competition, volunteer for a food drive, or start a business from your home. Choose to turn your physical challenge into a natural advantage!
7. The Time Excuse
Once I asked a room full of aspiring collegiate entrepreneurs how much more time Bill Gates had in a day than they did. Someone yelled out, “As much time as he wants. He invented the clock on my computer.” While this got a laugh, it made the point that everyone has the same number of minutes in a day. It’s what you do with your daily allotment of minutes that determines whether you run in circles or take the lead.
When you make “not having enough time” your favorite excuse, what you’re really saying is that you’re not good at managing your time and priorities. This is especially true if you’ve made a career out of cramming, procrastinating, overcommitting, and being in a hurry. If you’re not careful, your crazy schedule can lead to you working hard making everyone happy—except yourself.
Typical Defeatist Declaration: I just don’t have enough time to chase my dreams.
From the X-Cuse Files:
Danny is a single dad of three kids: two girls and one boy. He’s talked and talked about writing a book based on his consulting expertise. He thinks being an author would allow him to help more people and enable him to spend more time with his kids. But whenever he gets close to actually writing the book, he hides behind his ready-made excuse: “I have no time.” Even though his three kids are at school and other activities eight hours a day nine months a year, Danny is convinced he can’t spare fifteen minutes a day to work on his book. As long as Danny claims he has no time to write his book, he forces himself to travel to make a living which, ironically, takes him away from the kids he loves so much.
Moving Beyond the Time Excuse
Step 1: Figure out where your time is going. For one week, write down what you do each day in thirty-minute increments. Then determine the average amount of time you invest in each major area of your life each day.
Step 2: Compare this use of your time to your Future Picture. Are you giving yourself enough time to connect with your family? Are you giving yourself enough time to be physically fit? Are you giving yourself enough time to rest and relax? If one area of your